On Friday, October 5, I participated in my first official non-parade costuming event at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (MSI of Chicago) for the opening day for the exhibit "Star Wars - Where Science Meets Imagination". Of course we had to be very professional, which is what I love about the Rebel Legion and the 501st Garrision in the Midwest - representing the Star Wars community while having fun. We had Darth Vader, Artoo Unit with the Imperial Crew, four stormtroopers, one sandtrooper, Boba Fett, Anakin Skywalker, Red Invasion Amidala, Gammorean Guard, Chewbacca, Tie Pilot, C3P0, Ben Kenobi, Princess, Leia, and a Rebel Fleet Trooper. More importantly, there were four "handlers" who helped everyone, particularly those with masks to move around safely and to interact with the people visiting the museum. They also took our pictures for us. The handlers allow the costumers to do their job professionally.

It was awesome. The adults were as excited or even more so than the children at the museum. There are many more events that I could volunteer for if it were not for work and responsilbilities, but without my work I could not do this. The event was tiring but fun. We arrived at 9 am to get dressed. Security took us to the "Founder's Room" that we used as our dressing room and break room. Then from 10 am until 1 pm we roamed the Great Hall welcoming the visitors and getting our pictures made. The memories are awesome: seeing Vader hold a baby, kids being excited to hold a lightsaber or a blaster, Vader and Kenobi doing a "small battle" in the great hall, etc. We did not see the exhibit since the tickets were sold out, but it was fun.

I missed the MSI Charity event scheduled for Saturday, October 6, because I had family and friends running the Chicago Marathon early the next morning. I would later learn that George Lucas was at that charity event. Too bad I missed him, but I heard that he did sit with Mayor Daley.

Just as Star Wars had its 30th Anniversary Celebration earlier this year, the Chicago Marathon was celebrating its own 30th Anniversary. I knew five people who ran the race. One was a relative who was running her second marathon with two of her friends. The other four were from the area, three of whom were raising money for charities. All of them were experienced runners and followed a strict training plan to prepare for this race. Even though I have a brother and a cousin who have ran the marathon, this was truly my first experience to see the runners up close. When my brother ran the marathon more than 10 years ago, I only caught glimpses of the runners, and I didn't see my brother until a few hours after the race was done. I didn't even see my cousin run the marathon five years ago.

This year, I wanted to see the marathon. I saw my relative at the 13 mile marker which was a few blocks south of Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios at approximately 10:30 am (the elite runners were completing the race by then). She looked great, but there were many runners who looked like they were not going to finish it. After we saw her, we made our way back to my brother's nearby loft/condo, and tried to plan our next step to get as close to the finish line as best we can. Unfortunately, once in the car, many of the barricades that we expected to be brought down were still up. We kept seeing and hearing many ambulances. We found a parking lot about 1 mile from Millenium Park and Grant Park. Just walking to the finish line was hard, and all we could think about was how much more difficult and brutal this had to be for the runners. When we reached Buckingham Fountain, I got a text message at approximately 12 noon stating a predicted completed time for my relative. It was then that I heard another woman talking on her cell phone that the race was canceled and that all the runners were being told to walk. We waited in the crowd, and we were all relieved to see my relative make it to our meeting point. She finished under 5 hours, more specifically 4 hours and 58 minutes. Her plan was to finish under 4 hours and 30 minutes, and she would have been able to do it since she was well into mile 22 when the runners were ordered to walk and stop running. The other four also finished and got their medal

Unlike many runners she had diluted Gatorade in four small water bottles around her hip, and she wore a cap to protect her head. Although many finished, more than 250 were hospitalized and one died because of an unknown heart condition. The weather made the race difficult. According to reports 45, 000 runners were registered but 10,0000 did not run and another 10,000 did not finish the race. It is easy to criticize retrospectively, and I hope people do not see this marathon in a bad light because of it. The volunteers, businesses, residences, medical personnel who helped the runners are to be thanked for their efforts. Marathon racing is an extreme sport, and people have died even in shorter races than this. A colleague I know died in a 5K run recently. My thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends who have to deal with the loss of their loved ones.

30 years of Star Wars and 30 years of Marathon Racing in Chicago: I can do the Star Wars costuming, but you will never see me run a marathon.